Student gives teacher pot brownie

A teacher at Broadneck High School unknowingly ate a brownie laced with marijuana that a student gave her Monday.

The police's school resource officer at the school, at 1265 Green Holly Drive, was alerted to the incident at 1 p.m. after the 45-year-old teacher started to feel ill and became lethargic.

Another staff member noticed that the teacher was acting differently and accompanied her to the school nurse, said Lt. T.J. Smith, a county police spokesman.

In a letter to parents of students, Broadneck High Principal David Smith said the teacher told the nurse about the brownie and immediately called his office.

"The student admitted to giving the teacher the brownie and knowing it contained marijuana," the principal wrote to parents.

The 17-year-old boy and a girlfriend had shared the brownie and offered a piece of it to the teacher, Smith said.

The incident did not occur during a class period, Smith said.

The teacher was taken to a local hospital. The student and the girlfriend were checked out by a school nurse and were determined to be safe.

The teen was charged on a juvenile citation on charges including distribution of marijuana, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, Smith said.

The school system will be taking separate action through its Code of Conduct.

"Possession and use of drugs can have very, very serious consequences," said schools spokesman Bob Mosier. "The very thought that a student would give a teacher something laced with drugs is, quite frankly, appalling."

The incident was believed to be isolated and no other students or teachers were found to have consumed the brownie, Smith said.

"This was a foolish act by a child at the school and whether the child though it was funny it was absolutely dangerous," Smith said. "Now the student has to deal not only with school sanctions but criminal sanctions as well."

The text of the letter is below:

Hello parents,

I am writing you to let you know about an incident that occurred at school today. One of our teachers was given a brownie by a student and, soon thereafter, began to become disoriented. She was seen by the school nurse and told the nurse about eating the brownie. The nurse immediately summoned me and I sent an administrator to get the student so he could be questioned. The student admitted to giving the teacher the brownie and knowing it contained marijuana.

We are still investigating this matter and will provide more information if it is warranted. More immediately, however, I wanted you let you know of this matter so that if your child exhibits any unexplained symptoms, you would know about this issue and be able to relay it to any appropriate medical or other personnel.

Police are also continuing to investigate. Separate from their investigation, our school will take appropriate action in accordance with the Code of Student Conduct with regard to the student involved.

I urge you to talk with your child about this matter and encourage them to only consume food that they bring to school or that is purchased at our school.